The UK online retail sector bounced back from a disappointing summer and the distractions of theOlympics with double-digit growth in September, prompting online retail association IMRG to raise
its forecast for the full year.Monthly figures for September from the IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index indicate that UKonline retail sales rose by 11% compared to August and by 16% year-on-year, with British shoppersspending £6.4 billion online last month.
IMRG reported last month that a slowdown in August in the rate of UK online retail sales growthhad more to do with the London 2012 Olympics than any structural shift.
In the lead-up to Christmas, e-retail in the UK began to gain pace again with IMRG and Capgemininow forecasting 15% growth for the fourth quarter of 2012. They have raised the annual growthestimate one percentage point to 14% for 2012 as a whole.
Sales via mobile devices have continued to rise at a remarkable pace, with 312% year-on-yeargrowth in September. Interestingly, the conversion rate of 1.9% for September is the highestrecorded to date and shows how important mobile devices are becoming in the online purchasingjourney, IMRG pointed out.
Gifts experienced a real boom with a 54% increase in September compared to the same period lastyear indicating that online shoppers are already preparing for Christmas to spread the cost and tobenefit from summer stock discounting.
Clothing and health/beauty products were also very popular last month, as usual, with 18% and20% growth respectively. Clothing sales experienced the highest year-on-year growth since October2011 with the sector benefiting from the cool and unsettled seasonable weather in the second halfof September, IMRG explained.
The retail association stressed that growth of online-only retailers continues to exceed that ofmultichannel retailers. However, in September the difference in growth rates fell to just 3%. IMRGattributes this to shoppers returning to the high street after a packed calendar of summer eventsand disappointing weather that kept them at home over the summer.
The increased September growth revealed by the eRetail Sales Index is in line with positivedevelopments in the British economy such as the inflation rate being at its lowest level since 2009and the unemployment rate falling to 7.9%.
Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG, said: “The solid Index performance in Septemberrounds off the third quarter with 15% annual growth for the online retail sector. This is thestrongest quarterly growth recorded since Q2 last year and is perhaps an indicator that overallconsumer confidence is increasing. The cooler and unsettled weather towards the end of Septembergave a much-welcomed boost to the clothing sector, with annual growth at its highest level sinceOctober last year.
“Mobile commerce continued to soar in September, and the upward trend in the conversion ofbrowsers to buyers is evidence that consumer behaviour is being transformed by mobile devices.Retailers that integrate the mobile platform as an essential part of their multichannel strategieswill no doubt continue to reap the rewards over the lucrative festive shopping period,” sheadded.
